The number of homes on sale in the UK is at the highest figure for the past eight years as sellers return to the market, Zoopla has found.

In the group’s latest house price index (HPI), there was £230bn of housing for sale in April, a 25% increase year-on-year.

Zoopla said that the value of homes for sale has grown faster than the number of homes, as a result of a "rapid recovery" in the supply of three and four-bed family homes, after a shortage over the pandemic.

Furthermore, momentum in sales activity has continued, with a 13% increase in the number of sales agreed year-on-year.

In its HPI, Zoopla said: "Many existing homeowners delayed moving decisions in the second half of last year, due to concerns about the impact of higher borrowing costs on house prices and buyer demand. The recent decline in mortgage rates, together with rising sales volumes and firmer pricing, has brought more sellers back into the market, many of whom are also buyers.

"Most homes currently for sale are new-to-market. But, as demand for homes fell over the second half of the year as mortgage rates jumped higher, it's important to note that 31% of homes currently available for sale were also listed in 2023 but failed to find a buyer.

"Two-fifths (43%) of these homes have had their asking price cut by more than 5% to attract demand. This highlights the importance of correctly pricing your home from the outset, rather than aiming too high and not attracting buyers."

The pace of annual price inflation has improved over the last three months, with house prices falling by 0.1%.

The average property price in the UK now stands at £264,300 in April, which is a £210 decrease year-on-year.

Zoopla said that there "remains a clear divide between continued small annual price falls across southern England and the rest of the UK".

In relation to the divide in house prices, the firm added: "This is best seen at a city-level, where inflation ranges from a low of -3% in Ipswich to a high of 3% in Belfast. There is a broadly equal split between cities with rising and falling house prices.

"Higher mortgage rates contribute to this variation, with levels of affordability and demand having a big impact on prices. Cities in coastal areas – and those that attracted an inflow of demand over the pandemic in the ‘race for space’ – are registering above-average price falls, as demand weakens, and these one-off pandemic factors fade.

"We expect the current variation in house price inflation to continue over 2024 as incomes and house prices realign with the greatest adjustment across London and Southern England."

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